**Summary of the DARPA programs I’ve actively run and/or founded. Current as of October 2025.**

SPEECH FEATURES

From here to the stars

Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium Keynote

AFRL Inspire

Grad slam

Zenith program summary talk

XENA program summary talk

CHUTE program SUMMARY TALK

FLARE program summary talk

PODCAST FEATURES

Multiplanetary Society

Building the Lunar Economy with DARPA’s Dr. Michael Nayak

Ecosystemic Futures

Launching the Lunar Ecosystem

The Downlink

Building a secure cislunar economy: What’s it going to take?

The Functional Nerds

Episode 650, with Michael Nayak

Lab life

Beyond Antarctica | Test Pilots & Space

Multiplanetary Society

DARPA seeds the Lunar Economy

Lab life

Antarctic Windsurfing

press for my darpa programs

Luna-10
(10-year lunar architecture)

DARPA’s first dedicated lunar investment: Design a series of future integrated lunar infrastructure nodes, in frameworks that leverage commercial development.

Data Center Dynamics (how my name was beamed back from the Moon):
How this feature got to the Moon

“The hope is that, as we get this commercial economy started, we can start thinking about the whole idea of interoperability - I build power, you build comms,” DARPA program manager Dr. Michael ‘Orbit’ Nayak said. “We're aiming to define a framework whereby there are many services on the Moon, and I don't need to bring everything I need to survive with me, I can just plug into it.“

Space.com:
Can we actually build a thriving economy on and around the moon?

“At DARPA, we are simply interested in big risks," Nayak said.

Institution of Mechanical Engineers:
Lunar railway from DARPA and Northrop-Grumman could do heavy lifting for commercial Moon operations

“Starship may soon be able to deliver anywhere from 10 to 100 tons to the surface of the Moon in one drop,” says Michael Nayak, manager of DARPA’s 10-year Lunar Architecture (LunA-10) program. “What happens when there are dozens of landings? A railway on the Moon could help solve this logistical challenge.”

Space Daily:
Catalyzing a Lunar Economy: DARPA's Initial Findings from LunA-10 Study

“LunA-10 is a great example of the types of insights we can generate when we drive companies to break down vertically integrated siloes and collaborate to find new opportunities and limitations,” said Dr. Nayak.

ExecutiveGov:
DARPA Posts Updates on 10-Year Lunar Architecture Capability Study

“The LunA-10 program has uncovered how current foundational technologies and capabilities could stitch together into a self-sustaining lunar economy, and where there are gaps that require further exploration and technology maturation,” said Michael Nayak, program manager in DARPA’s Strategic Technology Office.

DARPA Press Release:
Catalyzing an Integrated Lunar Economy: Initial Results of the LunA-10 Capability Study

(Op-ed) The Mitchell Institute
Securing Cislunar Space and the First Island Off the Coast of Earth

Railway on the Moon / Lunar Logistics: articles from:
C4ISRNet Payload Space Satellite Today
Business Insider Quartz Breaking Defense
The Register Aviation Week TechSpot
Defense News Indian Express The Independent
Washington Exec AutoEvolution Trading View
PCMag Inceptive Mind Newser
SatellitePro MSN DaxStreet
Northrop-Grumman GFR Mashable

Space.com:

DARPA picks Northrop Grumman to develop “Lunar Railroad” Concept
Massive 'lighthouses' on the moon could light the way for future lunar astronauts
DARPA-funded 'Inchworm' robots could help us build moon bases. Here's how.
DARPA moon tech study selects 14 companies to develop a lunar economy
DARPA wants to build a 'thriving commercial economy' on the moon in 10 years

Quartz:
DARPA asks a $170 billion question about making money on the Moon

(Op-ed) The Hill:
How and why the Pentagon is laying the groundwork for an economy on the Moon

(Op-ed) Newsweek:
The Space Force Must Lead Without Fighting—And It Starts With the Moon

(Op-ed) Defense News:
Why the military is integral to America’s return to the moon

Geek Wire:
PowerLight joins Blue Origin to study power beaming system for the Moon

Space Voyaging:
DARPA’s LunA-10 Initiative: 14 Companies Charting a New Course for Lunar Exploration

Austin Business Journal:
2 Austin companies picked by US defense agency for lunar moonshots

Payload Space:
DARPA Awards LunA-10 Moon Infrastructure Project Contracts

Interesting Engineering (Similar article from Inceptive Mind):
GITAI's Inchworm robots get DARPA backing to advance lunar missions

TCT Magazine:
ICON's advanced construction 3D printing know-how to support DARPA's 10-year Lunar Architecture study

Defense One:
SpaceX, Blue Origin, others set to compete in military Moon business program

Space Watch (Similar article from ExecutiveBiz):
DARPA Selects 14 Companies for LunA-10 Capability Study

Denver Business Journal:
4 Colorado space companies win contract with DARPA to create lunar economy

Aviation Weekly:
DARPA Picks 14 Firms To Study Designs For Moon Infrastructure

Defense Daily:
DARPA Selects 14 Companies For Integrated Technology Concepts For Lunar Economy

Breaking Defense:
DARPA picks 14 vendors for lunar economy-building study

Defense Scoop:
DARPA taps 14 companies to study infrastructure needs for future lunar economy
New DARPA study to explore infrastructure needs for future lunar economy

Space News:
DARPA picks 14 companies for lunar architecture study
DARPA to study integrated lunar infrastructure

Tech Crunch:
Commercial companies to collaborate for DARPA’s new lunar economy study

DARPA Press Release:
Collaborating Toward Integrated Commercial Lunar Infrastructure

Gizmodo:
DARPA Launches Study on Starting a Lunar Economy in 10 Years

Science Times:
DARPA To Build Technologies for Integrated Lunar Infrastructure With LunA-10’s Aid

C4ISRNet:
DARPA to explore technology needed for moon-based economy

Data Center Dynamics:
DARPA LunA-10 project to study digital infrastructure on the Moon

DARPA Press Release:
A Framework for Optimized, Integrated Lunar Infrastructure

Other similar articles from:

TS2 Space. Next Big Future. The Register.
The National Digest. MeriTalk. Fagen Wasanni.
The Indian Express. Mezha Media. EE News Europe.
Executive Gov. Boing Boing. Bol News.
Mil Aero. Inquirer Technology. Phone World.
The 1014, NZ. Gadget Technology. Bharat Times.
Technology Times. City Life. Yahoo News. Crast. Comps Mag. The Blot. Day FR Euro. Open Access Government.
Interesting Engineering. Unexplained Mysteries.

Learn more

LOGIC
(LUNAR GUIDELINES FOR INFRASTRUCTURE CONSORTIUM)

DARPA’s second lunar investment: International, interoperable standards for the future lunar economy.

Space.com
New DARPA 'field guide' looks for ways to jump-start a moon economy

"If there is commercial value, at least based on what we now know, I would argue it's the moon's subsurface," said Nayak.

The Debrief:
DARPA’s LOGIC initiative: Shaping the Pathway for Lunar Infrastructure Development and Off-World Societies

“Widespread exploration and commerce on and around the Moon are on the horizon,” Dr. Michael “Orbit” Nayak, program manager in DARPA’s Strategic Technology Office, said. “We’re studying the technologies that can help to get us there.”

Inside Outer Space:
Building up Moon use: Guidelines and Pathways

Nayak said, “LOGIC will zero in how systems work together.”

News 9 Live:
APL, DARPA developing interoperability standards for commercial lunar hardware

MeriTalk:
New DARPA Group to Accelerate Commercial Lunar Infrastructure Standards

“Regular collaboration within the communities working on lunar technologies is key to an interoperable future that supports a diverse industrial base,” said Nayak.

Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) press release:
Johns Hopkins APL Teaming With DARPA to Accelerate Interoperability Standards for Commercial Lunar Infrastructure

DARPA press release:
Accelerating Interoperability Standards for Commercial Lunar Infrastructure

Other similar articles from:

Next Big Future. Potomac Officers Club.
Executive Biz. Space Daily.

Learn more

BIO-MECH
(Building Space Elevators, Space Nets, and other Large Bio-Mechanical Space Structures)

A community Request for Information (RFI) to seed a potential future DARPA investment.

The Register:
DARPA seeks ideas for 'large bio-mechanical space structures'

Gizmodo:
DARPA Wants Your Ideas for ‘Large Bio-Mechanical Space Structures’

Fusion Mind Labs:
DARPA Seeks Ideas for Bio Space Structures

The Debrief:
DARPA Wants to Build Giant Space Structures Using Living Organisms

IFLScience:
USA's DARPA Wants To "Grow" Gigantic Biomechanical Structures In Space

New Scientist:
US military wants to grow giant biological structures in space

Astrobiology:
DARPA: Building Space Elevators, Space Nets, and other Large Bio-Mechanical Space Structures

Futurism:
DARPA Requests Plans for "Large Bio-Mechanical Space Structures"

SpaceInsider:
Could We Grow Space Stations? DARPA Investigates Bio-Mechanically Growing Massive Structures in Space

Universe Today:
DARPA Wants to Build Structures in Orbit, Without Needing a Launch from Earth

ATMOSENSE
(ATmosphere as a sensor)

Understand the fundamentals of atmospheric energy propagation from transient events to inform new detection techniques and hazard forecasting for activities on the Earth's surface.

CEDAR workshop (2023):
DARPA’s Atmosphere as a Sensor program

AGU invited presentation (2022):
Understanding the Ionospheric Impact of the Coupled System Surface: DARPA's AtmoSense: Atmosphere as a Sensor

Interesting Engineering:
How Elon Musk’s SpaceX accidentally helped DARPA build a ‘rocket radar’

Space.com:
DARPA accidentally detects SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket reentry by listening to Earth's atmosphere

Gizmodo:
DARPA Unintentionally Invents New Rocket ‘Radar’ Thanks to SpaceX

DARPA Press Release:
Using the Earth’s atmosphere as a global sensor shows promise

Futurism:
DARPA Tried Using the Earth's Atmosphere as a Giant Sensor and Detected Something Interesting

The Debrief:
DARPA is Using Earth’s Atmosphere as a Sensor to Detect Secret Explosions and Spacecraft Reentries

MSN:
DARPA accidentally detects SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket reentry by listening to Earth's atmosphere

BRIDGES TA2 - SPACE SUPERIORITY
(BRINGING CLASSIFIED INNOVATION to DEFENSE AND GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS)

Dr. Greg Kuperman created the BRIDGES program. Under his program, I created the Space Superiority topic area.

Press Release:
Seeking Innovative Concepts for Space Superiority
Also in Space Daily.

Executive Biz:
DARPA Seeks Space Superiority Tech Concepts Under BRIDGES Initiative

TS2 Space:
The Pentagon’s DARPA Calls on Small Companies to Enhance U.S. Space Superiority

Bloomberg article:
Defense Research Agency Targets New Answers From Small Business

Breaking Defense:
Scout Space nabs DARPA deal

(Clickbait alert! Not fully accurate) Clearance Jobs:
DARPA initiative asks innovators to build future space weapons

(Clickbait alert! Not fully accurate) Space.com:
DARPA wants new ideas for space weapons

(Clickbait alert! Not fully accurate) PC Mag:
Got an Idea for a Space Weapon? The Pentagon Wants to Know

(Clickbait alert! Not fully accurate) The Debrief:
DARPA wants Futuristic Space Weapons that don’t currently exist

SAM solicitation link:
Bringing Classified Innovation to Defense and Government Systems (BRIDGES) Topic Area Addendum 2 – Space Superiority

Learn more

ZENITH

Design Liquid Mirror Telescopes that maintain a light focusing shape even if tilted out-of-plane, in monolithic and segmented designs that require no motion to operate.